Seasonal changes of macronutrients concentration in olive trees grown in acid and in alkaline soils

Nicholas K Moustakas,Panagiota Vatista,Pantelis E Barouchas,Emmanouil Kalantzis

doi:10.15835/nbha49412498

Abstract

Leaf samples from mature olive (Olea europaea L. cv. ‘Kalamon’) trees were collected monthly from April 2018 to March 2019 from two olive orchards, cultivated one in acid and one in alkaline soil, located in Western Greece. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) concentrations in the leaves were determined and seasonal variation curves were calculated for each nutrient and orchard. The seasonal concentration patterns of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg nutrients were almost similar in both soils. Seasonal variation nutrient curves independently of soil acidity varied according to vegetation stages and no significant differences in nutrient concentrations were observed at different development stages between olives grown in the acid or the alkaline soils, with only one exception the leaf K concentration. The nutrient concentration measured in wintertime was at a sufficient level for optimum olive growth in both orchards. These concentrations could be used as reference values for leaf analysis interpretation and for developing an optimum fertilization program under Mediterranean climatic conditions.

Highlights

Olives (Olea europaea L.) have been cultivated in the Mediterranean region since prehistoric times
cation exchange capacity (CEC) was at medium level in both soils with 11.2 cmol(+)kg-1 and 15.1 cmol(+)kg-1 for the acid and the alkaline soil, respectively
Potassium is at high level (0.8 cmol(+)kg-1) in the acid soil and a medium (0.56 cmol(+)kg-1) level in the alkaline soil

Summary

Introduction

Olives (Olea europaea L.) have been cultivated in the Mediterranean region since prehistoric times. Olive cultivation has always been one of the most important sources of income among the economic activities of all civilizations that lived in the Mediterranean Basin. The area under olive trees in the EU accounted for about 4.6 million ha in 2017. Spain (55%) and Italy (23%) accounted for over three-quarters of the total EU area under olive trees, followed by Greece (15%) and Portugal (7%) standing out as the countries with the largest cropping acreages. The four other olive-producing countries (France, Croatia, Cyprus, and Slovenia) together accounted for 1% of the EU total olive tree area. In Greece, olive cultivation is one of the most significant agricultural activities, with great social, economic, ecological, and economic importance.

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Results

Conclusion